Chapter 51: I Speak English Even in My Sleep
Su He couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
The old man had probably hit the tree pretty hard. When he heard Su He laughing, he immediately lashed out, “You young people have no manners at all! What are you laughing at?! Haven’t you heard of respecting the elderly and caring for the young?!”
Su He realized she was out of line and quickly apologized. “Sir, I’m sorry! Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
The old man snorted and ignored her, sitting down on a stone bench with his book to continue reading.
Su He was about to leave but happened to catch a glimpse of the book in his hand. Although the cover was one of those ubiquitous quotations, the inside pages were actually in English!
Although English classes had recently resumed in schools, English books were still effectively banned from sale. Only certain internal channels could access original English-language scientific and technical texts.
This old man wasn’t just educated—he had connections!
Su He leaned in and was even more surprised by what she saw.
It was a book about mainframe computers.
Right away, she knew: this old man was no ordinary person.
In this era, most people hadn’t even heard of mainframe computers, let alone studied English technical texts about them.
The old man looked up irritably. “What are you staring at? As if you could understand it! All dressed up like a peacock—clearly someone with no brains!”
Su He: “…”
Seriously? Her outfit was dull gray like a dusty duck. Where did he get the idea she was “all dressed up”?
That fired up her temper. She marched over, snatched the book, and read fluently:
“The parable dates for the computer are harder to tie down…”
The old man’s face changed color like a chameleon. “You know English?”
Su He rolled her eyes. “Who do you think you’re looking down on? I speak English in my sleep!”
The old man: “…”
A few years ago, Su He wouldn’t have dared say that in public, but with English education returning in junior and senior high schools, she now had the confidence to show off a little.
The old man’s demeanor instantly softened. “Young lady, it seems I underestimated you. My apologies!”
Su He immediately became wary—when people act overly friendly for no reason, it usually means they’re up to something.
She had assumed he was a rigid academic type, but now it seemed he was actually pretty sly.
The old man saw the suspicion in her eyes and quickly said, “Don’t look at me like that! I’m a good person! My surname’s Yuan—I live right here.”
Just then, someone passed by and greeted him: “Teacher Yuan, reading again?”
Old Yuan nodded. “Yup. Off to buy groceries?”
…
That made Su He relax a little, though she was sure of one thing—this “Teacher Yuan” definitely wanted something from her.
“Little girl, I’m currently translating some English books and need an assistant who understands the language. I think you’d be a good fit. What do you say—want to help me out?”
Su He’s thoughts spun quickly. “Aren’t you worried about getting reported for translating books from capitalist countries?”
Mr. Yuan chuckled. “If I dared bring it up, I obviously have all the necessary permissions and documentation. Otherwise, how do you think I got these books? I only used a different cover to avoid unnecessary trouble from the overly paranoid.”
Su He eyed him suspiciously. “You sound convincing, but I don’t believe you. Unless you show me the paperwork.”
“No problem. Wait right here.”
As he walked home, Mr. Yuan grumbled to himself. If fluent English speakers weren’t so rare, he wouldn’t bother with this sharp-tongued brat!
Su He squinted at his retreating figure. This was a big fish, no doubt about it.
It was already 1975. The turbulent times were nearly over, and people like Mr. Yuan would soon be in high demand.
Building a connection with him now would give her more leverage against people like Shen Ruyi in the future.
What’s more, he was involved in mainframe computing—different from the microcomputers that would later become common, but still with lots of shared foundations.
If she ever wanted to enter the microcomputer field, having him in her network would help her avoid many pitfalls.
Beyond personal gain, Su He also felt a strong sense of patriotism.
She had once read an article about a humiliation China suffered in the late 1970s, known as the “Glass Room Incident.”
At the time, China needed a high-performance mainframe for critical research. Only one Western country—referred to as “M Country”—had the technology.
Though they agreed to sell two machines, they imposed several humiliating conditions.
The most disgraceful? The computers had to be placed in a transparent glass room.
The room’s key was held by M Country’s personnel. Every time China wanted to use the machines, they had to get written permission, and M Country staff had to supervise the usage.
Although China caught up quickly afterward, by the time Su He “entered the book,” many technologies were still lagging behind—especially microchips, a field where foreign countries continued to hold them back.
The Eternal Exchange Hall contained countless books. If she could bring out the right ones at the right time, maybe she could help China leapfrog development and achieve technological breakthroughs faster.
And then there were people like Mr. Yuan—true patriots, still pursuing research in spite of their circumstances.
It was thanks to people like him that China would eventually rise to stand tall on the global stage again.
As Su He finished her mental patriotic monologue, Mr. Yuan returned.
He handed her a few documents. “Here! Do you really think an old man like me would trick a little girl like you?”
Su He looked over them—official approvals, procedures, red seals. All real.
She was thrilled inside, but outwardly she hesitated. “Mr. Yuan, I have other things to take care of too… I’m not sure I’ll have enough time.”
Mr. Yuan’s face immediately darkened.
“You made me go get all that paperwork, and now you’re backing out? What kind of joke is this?! Whether you want to or not—you’re doing it! Otherwise I’ll say you ran into me and tried to extort me!”
Su He: “…”
Fake injury scams sure had a long tradition in this country!
“Fine, I’ll do it. But Mr. Yuan, you can’t expect me to work for free. How much are you paying?”
She didn’t want to work hard and still get scolded—a proper transaction keeps things clean.
“You young folks are all the same! Always thinking about money!
If everyone was as hardworking as me, we’d have achieved the Four Modernizations already!
Fine—one yuan per hour. Happy now?”
Su He was thrilled!
Back at the Huaihua Commune she worked her fingers to the bone for only 17.84 yuan a month. A few days with Mr. Yuan and she’d make that easily.
Seeing the giddy look on Su He’s face, Mr. Yuan muttered, “Look at you, grinning like a fool over a little cash!
Anyway, since we’ve agreed, come on—time to get to work!”
Su He happily trotted after him and forgot all about visiting Granny He.
But when she entered Mr. Yuan’s home, she froze.
She had assumed he lived in some modest little room, leading a frugal life.
But no—the old man had three whole rooms to himself, complete with a radio, record player, sofa, and more.
There were pastries and candy on the coffee table—and even a half-eaten apple!
This was his idea of a hard life?!
